Adjusting to online classes has been a challenge that no one expected. Students, professors, parents – no one was prepared to finish half a semester’s worth of work online in different timezones. I am currently pursuing a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Theater Performance and it has definitely been a big adjustment to make for me and my fellow students. Performance classes without that in-person interaction are not easy, but with an open mind and supportive classmates, anything is possible.
Voice and Speech: Dialects
In this class, I have learned three dialects: Contemporary British, Irish, and Highland Southern. Since the class is voice-based, learning the dialects themselves hasn’t changed that much. However, performing scenes and monologues online is not at all similar to how we performed them in person. Doing body and breathing exercises are harder to do when you’re alone in your bedroom and not surrounded by your supportive classmates all laying on the floor and making weird noises with you. Nonetheless, my classmates have made the most out of doing a scene over Zoom with funny backgrounds and my professor always makes sure to check in before starting anything.
Movement: Stage Combat
Stage fighting is a skill that really cannot be learned without working with another person who is physically there with you. That class has been completely altered from what we would have learned if the semester stayed the way it was. The plan was to be working toward gaining certification in stage combat from the Society of American Fight Directors. Despite the circumstances, my professor has done an amazing job adjusting the class to online learning. We have learned about fake blood that is used on stage and how it can be made, we have learned about weapons that are used in stage fights and we even had a speaker who has worked as a fight director, actor and director on a multitude of staged plays and film sets. The class has still taught me things I’ve never learned before and it’s something that brings me joy twice a week at 9:30 in the morning.
Acting for Television and Film
This class has been the most heartbreaking for me to lose of in-person classes. My class, along with the senior class of B.F.A. Performance majors, would go into the city every Saturday for our respective classes. My class worked with cameras, a boom, lighting, and all kinds of equipment that would be found on an actual film set. For many of us, it was our first time acting in front of a camera, and having that taken away was extremely upsetting. We weren’t sure how the class was going to work, or if we would still even have the class. However, our professor pressed on and made sure we would still be able to perform every week and try as best we could to act as if we were still on a film set. We use our computer cameras and the space around us to try and get the perfect shot and be present with our scene partners. It’s definitely not the same, but we’re all doing our best.
My B.F.A. classes being online for half of a semester is not what I expected to happen back in January, but I’ve been met with nothing but support and empathy from my professors. Learning online while being physically isolated from all my friends has been a true testament to my patience and motivation, but it has made me realize how much we need to be extra sensitive and be there for one another right now.